People v. StetinPeople v. Stetin
- Reporters:
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- Before:
- Clark, Mccarthy, Egan Jr., Lynch, Devine
Matthew C. Hug, Albany, for appellant.
Kelli P. McCoski, District Attorney, Fonda (Pamela A. Ladd of counsel), for respondent.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
Clark, J.
Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Montgomery County (Catena, J.), rendered September 29, 2017, upon a verdict convicting defendant of the crimes of burglary in the second degree and assault in the second degree.
Following allegations that, in the early morning hours of September 25, 2016, defendant unlawfully entered the home of his then-girlfriend and beat her, defendant was indicted on charges of burglary in the second degree, assault in the second
Beginning with defendant‘s claim that his conviction for assault in the second degree was not supported by legally sufficient evidence and was against the weight of the evidence, such a conviction requires proof that, “[w]ith intent to cause serious physical injury to another person, [the defendant] cause[d] such injury to such person” (
At trial, the victim, the victim‘s mother and the victim‘s friend all testified that, on the afternoon before the incident, defendant had been at the victim‘s home, that he was angry because the victim had been in contact with her ex-husband and that, after being asked to leave several times, he eventually left. The victim stated that, many hours later, between 2:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m., she awoke to defendant standing over her bed. She testified that, as he directed various insults and offensive comments at her, defendant pulled her out of bed, picked her up and “slammed” her on the bedroom floor, which she claimed broke her “shoulder.” The victim thereafter described a prolonged attack that included defendant spitting on her, knocking her unconscious, repeatedly kicking her in the legs and feet and hitting her several times in the head and face. The victim stated that, once defendant fell asleep, she called her mother, who immediately came over and forced defendant out of the victim‘s home. The mother described the victim as having matted hair, red eyes from crying and redness on her neck, and also stated that the victim appeared to have
Defendant argues that the victim‘s testimony was incredible as a matter of law because it included “sensational” and “uncorroborated” allegations, which were neither included in the victim‘s statement to the police nor substantiated by the third-party testimony or the medical records. However, the victim‘s account was corroborated in many respects by the medical records and testimony from the responding police officers and the victim‘s mother, including their observations of the victim immediately after the attack. Contrary to defendant‘s contentions, the victim‘s testimony “was neither contradicted by any compelling evidence nor so unworthy of belief as to be incredible as a matter of law” (People v Cridelle, 112 AD3d 1141, 1143 [2013]; see People v Fernandez, 106 AD3d 1281, 1285 [2013]; People v Newell, 290 AD2d 652, 654 [2002], lv denied 98 NY2d 712 [2002]). Any testimony from the victim that was not included in her statement to police, or was perceived by defense counsel to be sensationalized, was explored at trial and presented a credibility issue for the jury to resolve (see People v St. Ives, 145 AD3d 1185, 1187 [2016], lv denied 29 NY3d 1036 [2017]; People v Ramirez, 118 AD3d 1108, 1111 [2014]). Considering the evidence in the light most favorable to the People (see People v Jones, 166 AD3d 1381, 1382, 2018 NY Slip Op 08058, *1 [2018]), we find a valid line of reasoning and permissible inferences from which a rational jury could conclude that defendant caused a protracted impairment of the victim‘s health and intended to do so (see
We turn next to defendant‘s challenge to the weight and legal sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction of burglary in the second degree. As that crime was charged in this case, the People were required to prove that defendant “knowingly enter[ed]” the victim‘s home unlawfully with the “intent to commit a crime therein” and that, while in the victim‘s home, he “[c]aused physical injury to” the victim (
The victim unequivocally testified that she and defendant did not live together, that defendant did not have a key to her apartment and that, although defendant would sleep over a few nights a week, he had not been invited on the night in question. She stated that, after defendant was asked to leave her home, she did not have any further contact with him that evening and that the door to her home had been locked when she went to bed. She further testified that the window next to her back door was broken and that defendant had previously witnessed her lift the window, reach around and unlock the back door. Testimony from both of the responding police officers established that, upon their arrival on the scene, they observed the back window to be open and the back door to be
Defendant further argues, based on several alleged deficiencies in his legal representation, that he received ineffective assistance of counsel under both the US and NY Constitutions. We disagree. Under the NY Constitution, which affords greater protection to a defendant than the US Constitution, an ineffective assistance of counsel claim will fail where “the evidence, the law, and the circumstances of a particular case, viewed in totality and as of the time of the representation, reveal that the attorney provided meaningful representation” (People v Honghirun, 29 NY3d 284, 289 [2017] [internal quotation marks and citations omitted]; see People v King, 27 NY3d 147, 158 [2016]). By comparison, to prevail on an ineffective assistance of counsel claim under the US Constitution, “a defendant must demonstrate that (1) his or her attorney committed errors so egregious that he or she did not function as counsel within the meaning of the [US] Constitution, and (2) that counsel‘s deficient performance actually prejudiced the defendant” (People v Gross, 26 NY3d 689, 693 [2016]; see Strickland v Washington, 466 US 668, 687-688 [1984]). Importantly, “[a] defendant‘s criticisms of counsel must amount to more than ‘a simple disagreement with [counsel‘s] strategies, tactics or the scope of possible cross-examination‘” (People v Ildefonso, 150 AD3d 1388, 1388 [2017], lv denied 30 NY3d 980 [2017], quoting People v Flores, 84 NY2d 184, 187 [1994]).
Defendant primarily takes issue with defense counsel‘s cross-examination
In addition, we cannot conclude that defense counsel lacked a strategic reason or other legitimate explanation for stipulating to the admission of the victim‘s unredacted medical records into evidence. The People expressed an intention to otherwise introduce the records through the testimony of the victim‘s doctor, and County Court likely would have ruled that the statements that defendant now argues should have been redacted were relevant to the victim‘s diagnosis and treatment and, thus, admissible (see People v Ortega, 15 NY3d 610, 617-619 [2010]; People v Barnes, 140 AD3d 443, 443 [2016], lv denied 28 NY3d 969 [2016]). Further, despite defense counsel‘s failure to request an adverse inference charge regarding photographs that were lost or destroyed by the police (see generally People v Wheeler, 124 AD3d 1136, 1139-1140 [2015], lv denied 25 NY3d 993 [2015]), upon considering the circumstances of the case and a review of the totality of defense counsel‘s representation, this single error did not deprive defendant of meaningful representation (see People v Kluss, 143 AD3d 1281, 1282 [2016], lv denied 28 NY3d 1147 [2017]). Among other things, defense counsel gave cogent opening and closing statements, lodged numerous successful objections, conducted pointed direct and cross-examinations and argued
To the extent that we have not specifically addressed any of defendant‘s remaining contentions, they have been reviewed and determined to lack merit.
McCarthy, J.P., Egan Jr., Lynch and Devine, JJ., concur.
ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed, and matter remitted to the County Court of Montgomery County for further proceedings pursuant to